So the good ship Sank!
It was perfect in beauty, according to the people, the builders made all the planks of fir trees; they made the mast from the cedar of Lebanon. Of the oaks of Bashan they made the oars; they made the decks of pines from the coasts of Cyprus inlaid with ivory. The sail was made of fine embroidered linen from Egypt; the awning was blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah. The rowers were the inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad. The pilots were skilled men of Tyre.
But when the rowers brought the ship out into the high seas, the east wind wrecked the ship into the heart of the seas. The riches, and the merchandise on the ship were destroyed — The Ship Sank!
The mariners and the pilots of the sea stood on the shore—they wailed aloud and cried bitterly. They wept with bitter mourning.
These are the words of Ezekiel 27; there the city of Tyre is illustrated as one of the great trading ships which traveled in the Mediterranean carrying merchandise to the various colonies in that area. But Tyre had a problem.
No Time for Anything Else
The problem with Tyre was that the people were so caught up in their own interests, pursuing their own goals, that they had no time for anything else.
We live in a world which makes it easy for us to fall into the same trap, brothers and sisters. There are many opportunities for us to get caught up in the interests and cares of this life and leave no time for God.
In Ezekiel 25, we have the brief prophecies concerning Ammon, Moab and Edom — the nations which were round about Judah as they fell before the Babylonians. When we come to the area of Tyre, however, we see a great deal more mentioned about it in Ezekiel 26 through 29.
In looking at this section there seems to be a great contrast between the people of Tyre and those mentioned in chapter 25. While Ammon, Moab and Edom hated Judah, there is no such hostility evidenced by Tyre.
The people of Tyre were more concerned instead with their business interests — to build themselves up, to enlarge their trade, so they looked upon Jerusalem not as an enemy, but as a rival.
The Fall of Jerusalem Would be Good for Tyre
Tyre realized that the fall of Jerusalem would be an advantage to her with respect to trade and commerce. All the customers that used to come to Jerusalem, would now come to Tyre to conduct business. So in Ezekiel 26:2, the people of Tyre have their sights set on their own prosperity rising out of the ruins of Jerusalem. Tyre was a pleasant and wealthy city, and might have continued to be, if she had sympathized with Jerusalem. Instead of that, her people had one thing in mind — greed; watching Jerusalem fall, they looked forward to their own prosperity as a result. God was terribly displeased with this situation. He declares in 26:3: “I will bring many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.” The record goes on to emphasize the terrible displeasure of God towards the people; His anger was such that the area of Tyre would be completely destroyed. Her attackers would destroy the walls and break down the towers. Tyre would become a bare rock — a complete desolation.
In Ezekiel 26:15-21, we have an indication of the great surprise and shock of the surrounding nations. Everyone was to be completely alarmed by the fall of such a great and powerful city. Everyone stood in awe of Tyre. Everyone would be completely overwhelmed by the great destruction that would happen. The “renowned city,” was so quickly to become a “desolate city” — a city which had been destroyed forever — never to be found again.
In I Timothy 6, Paul helps us to see what was going on in the minds of the people of Tyre;—the same things which can take hold on our minds, and lead us into, as Paul says, many “senseless and hurtful lusts that can plunge us into ruin and destruction.
Paul’s lesson is to lay up for ourselves a good foundation for the future, to aim at “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness,” that we might take hold of the life which is life indeed. That is eternal life.
The best work, even in the truth’s service, may be spoiled by the motive of self-esteem. It may be the love of the limelight, it may be the pride of possession, or just the gratification of vanity that motivates us in our life. Even in the work of the truth, this could be a motivating factor, to make a good showing, we might say.
This trait is so natural, and so deep-seated within us, that it is difficult to admit we even have it, yet we can notice it quite easily in others.
Take the people of Tyre, for instance —so easy for us to see their downfall, but very difficult to imagine that everyone of us could get involved in such a thing.
A Humble Spirit Will Help
If we can manifest a humble spirit, it will be much easier for us to carry out the other commandments of Christ concerning our character. It will be much easier to cut off the offending hand or foot, to pluck out the offending eye, or to cast away anything that robs God of His Glory.
This does not mean we need to be weak, for we should be strong and courageous in the truth, but humility helps us to avoid the causes of offence, and to follow the path that leads to righteousness.
Let us go back to Ezekiel, to pursue one more point in our lessons from the city of Tyre.
Continuing in Ezekiel 27, Tyre is illustrated (as we mentioned earlier) as one of the great trading ships which travelled the Mediterranean.
Chapter 27 is divided into 2 parts:
- A description of the city itself under the figure of a ship.
- A detailed list of the countries and areas that were engaged in trading activities with her.
Notice the emphasis on beauty. These words exemplify chapter 26 where Tyre was displayed as a city of great wealth and merchandise, a city which the surrounding areas looked up to in awe and splendor, a city considered to be perfect in beauty.
In chapter 22 we have the terms “full of wisdom” as well as “perfect in beauty.” You wouldn’t expect a city which was in Tyre’s position to be considered “full of wisdom.” However what it’s talking about here is the wisdom of the world — the folly of the world. What the world considers to be wise, is usually just the opposite of what God considers to be wise.
Tyre Felt Full of Wisdom
Tyre was convinced that it was full of wisdom, because of the time it spent upgrading the city’s wealth and prosperity, those things which the world considers to be wise. Ezekiel 28 deals quite heavily on this subject (Ezek. 28:1-7).
It is actually folly of the people of the world to value highly themselves and the pomp and pleasure they live in; to call themselves perfect in beauty and full of wisdom as a result of their material splendor.
We see quite clearly in chapter 28 what God thought of the wisdom and beauty of Tyre.
The lesson is very clear for us, brothers and sisters. God has set forth these lessons for us, for our benefit, and for our own use, as we attempt to serve Him.
We have seen the good ship Tyre, in all its beauty, wealth and prosperity, become heavy laden, and sink into the heart of the seas.
We have seen its riches, its wares and its merchandise wiped away by the hand of God, because of its arrogant and prideful attitude toward a falling Jerusalem.
The apostle Paul has shown us that if we set our minds in a similar direction as Tyre, it will lead us into many senseless and hurtful desires that can plunge us into ruin and destruction.
We have seen that rather than fall into the trap of the so-called wisdom and beauty of the world, we should strive for the true wisdom of God—as Paul says, to aim at righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness and gentleness — the things which are pleasing in God’s eyes.
So here we have the important lesson from the good ship Tyre. According to the people, it was perfect in beauty; the builders made all the planks of fir trees; they made the mast from the cedars of Lebanon; they made the oars from the oaks of Bashan; they made the decks from the pines of Cyprus. The sail was made of fine embroidered linen from Egypt; the awning was blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah.
Such a beautiful ship it was in the eyes of the people, but to no avail, because at the hand of God, the good ship Tyre Sank!
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One